Stories about Real Madrid

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Unanticipated, unpredictable and unexpected are a few of many analogous adjectives that have been used to describe the recently concluded football spectacle, Euro 2016. It was indeed a tournament which saw several unheralded outcomes:
– The spirited Icelandic ‘sons’ stomped over a perplexed and dumbfounded English 11 in the round-of-16.
Iceland celebrates a goal during Euro 2016.Photo: Twitter
England suffered 2-1 upset loss to Iceland in Euro 2016 round.Photo: Headline News
– A united Welsh outfit sailed through to the semi-finals in what was their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
[caption ...

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The final of the European Championships took place in Paris, France, with Ronaldo’s Portugal against a resolute French team that had thumped Iceland in the quarter finals and edged past Germany in the semis. France were the absolute favourites to win the cup; indeed, it hadn’t been expected that Portugal would even reach the final.
History was on Didier Deschamp’s side as Portugal had never beaten France in a major tournament and had only beaten France five times in 24 meetings, with a massive defeats-total of 19 games. However, the Portuguese were slightly more rested than the hosts, and would ...

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FIFA World Cup.. Nah!
UEFA Euro.. Meh!!
Copa America.. Not a chance!!!
Africa Cup of Nations.. Are you frikkin kidding me???
We are a strange lot, we club football fans. Even while there’s a major international football tournament going on, someone like me is more interested in something as insignificant to an outsider as, well, Liverpool (LFC)’s pre-season training.

That in no way should mean that I am not fully aware of what is going in any of the aforementioned ‘country versus country’ tourney, but putting it mildly let’s just say…
‘Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn!’
That is unless one of my ...Read Full Post

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José Mourinho, widely regarded as one of the best managers of the current era, is coming to the team he used to call “a giant club” – Manchester United. On May 27, 2016, Mourinho penned a three-year contract deal with an option to stay with the club until at least 2020.
Will Manchester United finally go back to its old form?
It’s fascinating to see “The Special One” at The Theatre of Dreams. He has been there many times before, but now he comes there not to be on the opposite end, but on the touchlines to guide and lift the team to higher ...

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This summer is like Eid, Diwali and Christmas rolled into one for all us football fanatics. It’s not just the Euro taking place in France that will the set our pulse racing, but us fans have got a one-off tournament in shape of Copa America Centenario taking place in the American continent to look forward too.
Slotted in between the usual four year cycle, the Centennial Copa America is scheduled to celebrate the 100 years of South American football competition that started off in 1916.
Chile won the Copa America for the first time on Saturday when ...

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Almost two years ago, Louis van Gaal (LvG) was the centre of attention at the biggest football event on the planet – the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the build-up to Netherlands crucial semi-final game against Argentina, BBC Sports justified Louis van Gaal being labelled as the tactical genius. No one would have thought that in two years’ time, the same man would be heavily criticised and eventually sacked for the very tactics that were once glorified.
France’s 2-0 friendly win over the Netherlands in March prompted a tactical rethink by Van Gaal.Photo: Getty Images
Van Gaal’s announcement as the new Manchester ...

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For me personally, there is only one thing worse than watching either Barcelona or Real Madrid lift the La Liga trophy and that is to watch any one of these clubs winning a rather predictable two-horse race of a league at a canter.
It’s like watching a glorified Scottish Premier League. For “Los Merengues and Els Blaugrana” read “hyped-up Celtic and Rangers”.
With the notable exception of 2013-14 Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone, a Rafa Benitez led Valencia in 2001-2002 and 2003-2004, and Deportivo La Coruña once at the start of the current millennium, no team other than Real and Barca has won the Spanish first division title in the last 20 years.
And ...

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The great Manchester United, a club which has won a record; 13 titles in the Premier League era that hasn’t been equalled by any other team to date, achieved under the managerial reign of the imperious Alex Ferguson, who arguably is, the best manager in the history of professional sports. In the title run-in, his teams were always competing if not winning the Barclays Premier League (BPL) crown.
Photo: Reuters
When he announced his retirement in 2013, the football world was left in shock and knew one of the greatest football minds would be bidding farewell to the club he transformed ...

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Zinedine Zidane is arguably the best player of his generation – watching him glide on the football field was like watching a painter perfect his art. Unstoppable with the ball at his feet, he was truly one of the most gifted players to grace us with his presence on the field.
When the Spanish press revealed that Rafa Benitez’s days are numbered as head coach of Real Madrid, rumours had it that Zidane would replace him as the manager of his former club. Instinctively, the fans and the media began to reminisce about the man whose sublime volley won them the Champions League, and the fact that ...

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According to a 2015 issue of Forbes Magazine, Manchester United became the richest English club, boasting of $3.10 billion as their net worth, as well as being ranked third in the world after the two Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Futbol Club (FC) Barcelona.
Recently, United revealed its new Adidas home kit and it is reminiscent of their shirts from the 80s and 90s. They had signed a 10-year deal worth £750 million in partnership with the Premier League club, allowing themselves to climb the ladder of success.
Photo: Football.co.uk
United’s success and prominence has been due to some of the clubs most significant personalities, who have guided it towards such ...